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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Powell Books and Voodoo

Portland is a large metropolitan area with a population of about 2 million. It is the largest of the Oregon cities. Located on the Washington border and only about 75 miles from the Pacific coast, it is in close proximity to the Cascade Range, Mt. Rainier, Columbia River, and the sweet goodness of one of the leading fruit producing states in the nation.

Maple cream

Being a large city, it offers amenities many smaller towns don’t have--art museums, a symphony, and the availability of most goods and services. In other words--Portland’s got it all.

Triple chocolate penetration, cocoa puffs on top

One thing we really enjoy are bookstores. Powell’s Books, located in downtown, and taking up the entire block between 10th and 11th, is the largest used bookstore in the world. Like the city of Portland, this 3-story megastore has it all. With so many books, organization was a challenge. The store is divided into colored rooms--gold room houses mysteries, red room is devoted to travel, pearl room has arts and photography. Certainly the avid reader and book lover could live here. I would consider taking up residence, but my budget wouldn’t tolerate it. We have a favorite used bookstore at home where we can pick up most any title for $3-5. I often find something at goodwill for $1. So I was a little dismayed to find prices of $6-10. My $20 bill wasn’t going to go very far. I did come away with 3 mysteries to read, but it was a very hard decision not to buy that photography book instead. Gene spent his whole wad on one new Rick Steves travel book.

Powell's Books

We had read in a travel guide about Voodoo Doughnuts. It could be argued that we like doughnuts better than books, so how could we resist with a name like that and within walking distance of the bookstore.

We were quite surprised to round the corner and find a line on the street to get into this dive. We took our place in line and waited. The wait was fairly entertaining. Several in line, like us, had not been there before. The regulars were asked about their favorite flavors, the newbies were making pictures and the mentally challenged gentlemen sitting on the bench in front of the store seemed to be reciting the names of the galaxies. When we finally got inside, it was tiny. Not much bigger than my little RV kitchen. There were no tables--to go only. Many newbies were surprised by the “cash only” sign. Lucky for them, there was an ATM right there in the corner. How convenient. We stumbled with our order, but finally managed to get a variety--triple chocolate penetration, blueberry cake, maple cream-filled, butter fingering, raised chocolate glazed. Outside, we found a bench in Pioneer Square and chowed down. They were good, but not any better than a hot Krispy Kreme.

I seem to be a day behind in my posts. We went to Mt. Hood today. Tomorrow is going to be chore day, so maybe I can get that story posted early. I’m certainly too tired to do it tonight

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About Us

Welcome to Blue Roads to Hiking Trails. We are Gene, Judi, and Peanut the cat, and we are any time RVers in our Four Winds Class C motor home. Our passion is hiking and exploring the great outdoors.
We are blessed in our retirement with good health and strong legs. Our desire is to see this country and to hike its trails. Our motor home allows us to be “at home” as we travel the “blue roads” to trailheads across America.
It is our goal through this blog to share some of our travel adventures, RV experience, hiking destinations, and, yes, some disasters in the hopes that we might be an inspiration and helpful resource for those who have an interest in travel, the RV lifestyle, and a love for the great outdoors.
We invite you to tag along with us as we travel this journey. Who knows where it may lead, but one thing’s for sure--it will be an adventure. We love to hear from our readers so please leave us a message with your comments and suggestions.